Snapshots into Riverdale
by xXxAngelStormxXx
Summary: mini-ficlets, one-shots about Riverdale. [Please remember to leave a review to let me know what you think!]
1. Cheryl's Nightmare

Cheryl Blossom

* * *

 _Slowly, I walk down the staircase carrying a candelabra in front of me with my long red dress flowing around me. I walk the familiar path through the hallway and find myself in front of the casket, Jason's casket._

 _Taking a deep breath, I reach forward, not of my own will. It felt like I was being forced to, and the casket doesn't creak as I lift it open. My eyes are wide, fear and confusion filling my head as I stare at the empty casket. The empty casket with bloody marks as if someone clawed at the top on the inside._

 _I feel something behind me, and my stomach drops. Taking a deep breath, I slowly turn around and gasp, horrified at what I see. My brother, my twin Jason, is standing in front of me. He looks like something out of a horror film, particularly a zombie one. His skin is pale and eyes look dead, clouded over and glassy._

 _Finally, I find my voice and I scream as he reaches for me._

* * *

I jolt up, my breathing hard as I realize I was only dreaming. ' _It was just a dream._ ' I tell myself, taking a breath. ' _Just a dream._ '

"I told you no more sleeping in Jason's bed." My head swings to see that my mother is in the doorway, observing me with an annoyed look.

"Oh, I was just working on the eulogy for JJ." I hold up the paper, trying to defend myself in some way. I hadn't mean to fall asleep, it was an accident.

She snorts in response, "You're not speaking at the memorial. God knows what you'd say, something to embarrass this family." Her words cut into me deeper than they usually do. I am used to her sneers, contempt filled looks and words. The paper I'd been using crumpled in her palm and she dropped it on the bed behind me.

She leaves me sitting there, alone in the dark and I feel tears well up in my eyes. I take a shaky breath, trying to hold back it back, but the pain bubbles out anyway and tears stream down my face soon causing mascara and eye liner in trails down my cheeks and smudged under my eyes.

"JJ." I cry, "I'm so sorry JJ." I pull my knees up to my chest, "I'm so sorry. I wish I didn't leave you on the riverbank that day. I wish I stayed with you." Not for the first time I just cry. I've managed to keep it all inside when I'm at school and with my cruel parents, but now that I'm alone it's just too much to always hold inside. "I want my brother back. I want my twin back. JJ, come home. I want you to come home."

I plead with the world, with whoever is listening, that I will wake up in the morning and Jason will be alive and next to me. I can picture it. Him smirking at me and asking me what's wrong when I begin crying, happy to see him.

This time, when I fall asleep, I meant to stay here. Here in my brother's room.


	2. Cheryl and Veronica's Sleepover

Cheryl Blossom

"Okay, so I hope this isn't weird but your brother was very handsome." Veronica admits in a half whisper.

"The handsomest." I agree, trailing my finer along the picture. I smile as I think about him, about what he would think of the girl who's sitting here next to me instead of my best friends. "You know," I pause and look at her, "I think Jason would have liked you." The words leave my mouth and I look back down to the book immediately.

If we hadn't been in a competitive popularity queen-bee battle I think we would have immediately become best friends. We share so many interests and have a lot in common. She actually cares even though I'd done nothing but fight her.

"So, can I ask you something?" Veronica's voice cuts through my thoughts and I look back up to her once more and nod.

"Why did you invite me and not, like, your best friends?" She tilts her head questioningly, and I already have an answer.

"You helped me after the pep rally, when I had my panic attack. You were there for me when no one else was, they weren't there for me either." I admit, holding my head high. We study each other as she digests my words, and I see an understanding in her eyes. Not for the first time tonight I am glad she's here with me.


	3. Betty and the Dance

Betty Cooper

Still angry with my mom, I all but stomp out of the house on my way to meet Veronica to get our dresses for the dance tonight. I cannot believe her, she makes accusations and judgements and she doesn't even know Veronica. She's such a good person, and is trying to be nice. She's new, and I'm determined to be her friend no matter what my mother says.

It barely takes me any time to get to the mall and I sigh in relief upon seeing her waiting for me.

"You're late you know." She raises a perfect eyebrow at me with a teasing smirk on her lips.

"By like five minutes!" I cry as I check my watch, "That's not even that bad." I nudge her arm, "My mom was being crazy, let's go." I offer her a vague explanation and move past her swiveling around in a circle, giving her a grin before turning around to open the doors. I decide to wait to tell her about my mom's disapproval, and maybe not tell her at all.

Soon we are laughing as we rush around, grabbing dress after dress and modeling it for each other. It takes us close to an hour to find the perfect dresses. Mine is a girly pink, with a high neckline up to about the collarbone with thick straps and a flowy skirt. Veronica especially liked the triangle cutouts on the sides of it. Her dress was strapless, and had a lacey look to it with more of a pencil skirt. I can't help but notice how opposite our dresses are.

Immediately after bagging our dresses we go back to my house to get ready, and thankfully my mother isn't there to gripe and moan about Veronica being here. We help each other get ready, makeup and hair, the whole nine yards.

"Archie won't know what hit him." She squeezes my shoulders and leans to look in the mirror, her face next to mine. At her advice, I kept my hair down and did it in soft curls. My makeup was still soft, but she did lend me one of her glosses for my lips.

"What about you? You look amazing!" I hold her hands when I turn around. "You're a total bombshell!"

The door rings and we share a grin, "Let's go get em' girl!" She tugs me up and we snatch our clutches up before hurrying down to the door. We pause before opening it, "Okay," I take a deep breath or two, "we can do this." "Yes, we can! And yes, you can!" She encourages me and I slowly open the door.

"Hey Archie." I greet softly as his eyes land on us.

"Wow. You, you look real nice Betty." He complements me and I feel butterflies in my stomach. "So, do you, Veronica." He rubs the back of his neck, almost nervously.

"What are you two waiting for? C'mon let's go!" She pulls us outside and off we go. I nervously keep eyeing Archie the whole trip there, to the school. I can't help it, I just can't believe I'm going to do it, like actually tell him how I feel, tonight.

Linking arms with both Ronnie and me, Archie walks in between us through the doors to the gymnasium which has been decorated for the occasion. I look around, seeing balloons everywhere, the lights of the party dancing off people's skin and clothes, and immediately I could feel the beat of the music pulsing through my body.

"Well, it's not the met ball." Veronica says as she takes it all in from the other side of Archie.

Looking at a picture of Jason which is by the door, I think about Archie's decision, about football and music. "Hey, when do you have to let coach Clayton know about football?" I turn my head to look at him.

"This weekend." He grimaces.

"Guys," Veronica removes herself from Archie's side and stands in front of us, "can't we just liberate ourselves from the tired dichotomy of jock, artist. Can't we, in this post James Franco world, be all things at once?" She uses her hands, moving them around as she talks expressively.

"I'm working on it Ronnie." Archie shakes his head with a smile.

"Work faster!" She tells him seriously, "I'm getting punch." She walks a few steps sideways, "You got this!" Her voice Is barely above a whisper with her hand next to her mouth in a secretive manner. I nod, thankful for her optimism.

"It's about following your heart, right?" I ask as we walk into the crowd of students. "What does your heart say?" I turn to him and fuss over his bowtie. "Music, or football?"

His eyes must catch on something because he is looking hard and I turn to see Miss Grundy in his line of sight.

"Betty, will you give me one minute?" His gives me an almost embarrassed nervous look, "I promise when I get back, I'll be a much better date. Okay?" His eyes plead with me as he talks.

"Okay." I nod, barely even saying the word and he's gone, off into the thick crowd.

"Betty!" Casey surprises me and grabs my shoulders. "You will not believe who just propositioned me in the bathroom. Give you a hint, his name may be Moose, but I would describe a certain appendage of his as horse-like."

My mouth drops open, still reeling from the sudden surprise my mind works a mile a minute to understand the words that came out of his mouth. "What? Moose?" I tilt my head, as the confusion ebbs and what he said actually sinks in. "OH."

He's still jumping with what I guess to be excitement, "OH, I gotta go find Veronica in a few minutes." Casey says as he checks the time on his watch, "And you have to go dance with Archie." He grabs me by the shoulders again, "Do it, just do it. Tell him how you feel." I roll my eyes at Casey's commanding voice, but I'm glad I have him and Veronica both in my corner hype-ing me up and encouraging me.

"I'm going to do it." I tell him, but mostly it's for myself. "I am." I nod, now trying to encourage myself even though the idea scares me a little bit.

"You got this." He smiles, "I gotta go." And he's off in a flash and I spot Archie through the crowd talking to Miss Grundy and I feel a pang of jealously that he's over there with her, and then I immediately admonish myself. She's our teacher for goodness sakes, why am I jealous? I look away to try to distract myself when movement pulls my eyes to the stage and it gets quiet as Cheryl Blossom steps up to the microphone in her floor-length red gown.

Okay, now that's something to be jealous of. It's an amazing dress and looks great on her.

"Good evening friends. Are you all having a good time?" She pauses as people cheer, "As honorary chairperson and defacto queen of tonight's semi-formal, it is my great pleasure to introduce this evening's main entertainment. To know them is to be obsessed with them. Though they usually perform their own material, tonight they're making an exception and debuting a cover of the song my parents claim they were listening to the night Jason and I were conceived. This one's for you JJ." Her speech echo's in the gym as she talks and I wrinkle my nose. That was a bit tmi, I definitely did not need to know that about the song.

"Sorry about that." Archie arrives at my side again.

"I give you, Jose and the Pussycats!" Cheryl gestures behind her as she gets off the stage and they begin to play.

"Wanna dance?" Archie asks after a few moments of listening to the music pouring from the speakers.

"Yeah." I bounce in my shoes, excitedly and immediately wrap my arms around his neck. "Did that go okay?" I tilt my head questioningly, looking into his eyes.

"Yeah." He nods, "Yeah, so I'll study with Miss Grundy before school, football after school, working with my dad on weekends. It's gonna be nuts." Just the thought makes him look a little exhausted.

"As long as you don't give up your passion." We share a smile and I look over to see Veronica and Casey looking at us while dancing. They mouth words at me, telling me to just do it and to tell him.

"Um…" I take a deep breath, and decide to just jump into it. "Now that I'm a River Vixen and you're gonna be on varisity football, I have this fantasy of us as a power couple… or maybe even just a couple." I watch his face; his wide smile slowly drops with every word.

"Betty…" He looks at me sadly and my eyebrows pull together, a feeling of desperation beginning to work its way into my senses. I pull my arms off his shoulders, and hold my clutch bag in front of my chest.

"Is that so impossible to imagine?" My shoulders droop the smallest bit as he releases me and we join in clapping at the end of the song.

Somehow, we manage to make it through the rest of Josie and the Pussycat's set, and Cheryl of all people tells us she wants us to come to her afterparty. "All River Vixens are coming. And you are a River Vixen." She quirks an eyebrow as she studies me, a look of mild distaste in her eyes, "Football players too." She trails a manicured finger along Archie's shoulder as she brushes past us, bumping into me hard.

Somehow, we end up at her afterparty, Veronica and I sitting on a couch across from Reggie and some other people.

"It's game time at Chez Blossom, kiddies." Cheryl walks, swaying her hips as she comes to stand in front of the group in a new dress having changed out of her long one in favor of a much shorter party dress. "We're going old school tonight. Seven minutes in Heaven." She smirks and I feel foreboding sense that this will not end well. "Who wants a tryst in the Closet of Love first?" She flits her eyes to Archie, "My vote is 'A' for Archie." She eyes him and I clench my teeth, knowing that Archie would never go for her anyway.

"Wait, actually-" Archie is cut off by Reggie who seconds Cheryl's nomination, "Yes, Andrews. Yes!" He lets out a laugh and she her smirk returns.

"All right. Gather round, kids. Let's see who's riding the ginger stallion tonight." She shakes the bottle in the air, while she moves before spinning it on the table. I hold my breath and blink in surprise when it lands directly between me and Veronica.

"Oh, no way!" Reggie laughs and Cheryl speaks over him, giving me a mean look, "It's clearly pointing to…" She pauses, "the new girl." Her voice is sickly sweet.

"Um… I'm not doing this." Veronica looks at me, as she speaks up.

"That's up to you." She shrugs, "But, if you don't, house rules decree the hostess gets to take your turn." By the time she's done she looks rather smug and I inwardly cringe a I exchange a look with Ronnie. I would much rather she goes in over Cheryl, but I would also rather I go in over her. I look down to my hands as she reluctantly stands up, and they are locked into the closet.

Cheryl giggles, a maniacal laughter that only I seem to hear. "All the things I would love to do to that boy." She eyes the door, and I look over to it sadly.

"I wonder what she's going to do?" She continues and I tense as she sits next to me, a feeling of jealousy and hurt spasms through my chest with every snarky, intentionally chosen word that passes her lips. "What's he like? Tell me Betty," Her voice is low, "Is he any good?" I shut my eyes tight at her insinuation and suddenly I'm on my feet, moving fast and gone before I realize what I'm doing. I hit the street and tears pour down my face.

I remember back to the other night when we first met her, Ronnie. I was trying to tell Archie how I feel, and I had actually done it but I realized after he didn't say anything that he was staring over my shoulder at something, something that turned out to be a mysterious, goregeous girl. He had seemed mesmerized and even invited her to join us. Maybe he wanted Veronica now, and that's why he seemed so hesitant to give me an answer. Maybe he never wanted me and I just thought he did. Maybe he doesn't love me, doesn't even like me at all.

But Veronica, I can trust her. I know I can. I've known her for less than two days, but it feels like we've known each other forever. She won't betray that trust, I don't think she would do that to me. But maybe I don't know Archie as well as I thought I did.

I all but run home, my heels clicking on the pavement as the tears continue to slip down my face. Quietly I go up to my room and sit by my window, willing the tears and pain to just stop. At some point my eyes run dry and I stop shaking, and stare out on to the street. The moon and streetlamps illuminating the night a little bit.

I rub my eyes, and realize the figure in front of my house on the sidewalk isn't an illusion. It's Archie. Biting my lip, I decide to go talk to him. Talking is supposed to help, it always has before. Slowly I pull on a white sweater and slowly make my way back down to the front door. Taking a deep breath, I open it, and step into the night air.

"I'm not going to ask what you did with Veronica at Cheryl's." I say as I look to Archie and walk forward a few steps. "But I'm asking you now, right now, if you love me Archie." My voice breaks as I hold back more tears, "Or even like me?"

"Of course I love you, Betty." I feel my heart swell a little but the sense of dread remains amongst the sense of desperation and hope. "But I can't give you the answer you want." He looks defeated as he comes closer to me.

"Why?" I force the word to pass my lips, knowing the answer would be painful.

"You are so perfect. I've never been good enough for you." He sighs, "I'll never be good enough for you."

His admission makes my heart drop and my chest tighten. I want to scream, to tell him that he's always been more than good enough for me. I love you Archie. Tell him to forget about all that, and just be with me. But I know, with his words, that his mind won't change about that, not for a while. My words won't matter, I think as my mind drifts back to my mother's words, her thoughts about Archie. She didn't think he was good enough, and never hesitated to say so, and especially to his face. Trying not to sniffle I slowly turn and walk back up the steps to my house, wishing that he would stop me, but he doesn't and I lean against the door when I'm inside.

Sliding down to the floor, I sit with my knees up to my chest for a while before forcing myself back to my room. I would never hear the end of it if mom found me like this, if she knew how I felt about Archie and what happened tonight she would go ballistic. She already hates him, this would just make her hate him more.

I hang my dress up and change into soft pajamas before crawling into bed. I hug my pillow tight and close my eyes, willing the dance and everything after it to have been nothing more than a bad dream. That I would wake up with Ronnie shaking me awake to get me to finish getting ready for the dance. Eventually I drift off to sleep, dreaming of a better tomorrow.


	4. To See Polly

Betty Cooper

With Jughead's assurances I take a deep breath and we go inside the large and intimidating building. The troubled home for youth. I shudder as we pass the entrance and my stomach drops as we approach the lady at the desk.

"I'm Elizabeth Cooper, I'm here to see my sister Polly." I tell her and she asks for ID, having me sign in. Quickly I fumble to do so, and hand it to her im

"You'll have to wait here." She points at Jug and my nerves bubble up once more, now on my own to find her.

My stomach is in knots as I follow her through the hallways. "Polly's room is up ahead. It's reflection time, which she likes to spend out in the gardens." She tells me and I peer through the small circular window into her room as we pass it.

It's tiny, much smaller than hers at home. There are crosses everywhere and next to nothing that screams that this is Polly's room. The only good thing is that the window lets in lots of light and has a nice view from what I can tell. Of course, I keep this to myself, and follow her quietly out to the gardens. She gestures to where Polly is standing, looking at the flowers and my heart clenches. I'm finally going to see my sister again.

Taking a deep breath, I calm my nerves, and my excitement has room to bubble up now. A shy smile finds its way onto my lips as I wind around the path and come up closer to the older blonde girl. "Polly?"

My smile widens as she turns to face me, and I see my older sister for the first time in months.

"Betty! You found us!" She exclaims happily, her smile as big as mine and my eyes land on her stomach. Her swelling stomach, and I realize she's pregnant.

My sister is pregnant. I'm going to be an aunt. A sudden thought hits me and I feel heartbroken for her. It's Jason's and she doesn't know he's dead. How am I supposed to tell her that the boy she's in love with, who is the father of her unborn child, is dead?

I find myself at a loss for words as she asks about him, and I stumble over the words that make it out of my mouth as I wish that the circumstances could be different.


End file.
